The One I’ve Been Waiting For — Easy Slow Cooker Chili

I don’t come from a place where chili is a thing. Heck, I’m from California — we put barbecue chicken on pizza. We don’t have things. What this means is that I don’t have firm and fixed ideas about what should and shouldn’t be in chili, and as a result, I’ve tried many a chili recipe over the years. I’ve tried white chicken chili, turkey chili, chili con carne, chili without beans, vegetarian chili, what was supposed to be Cliff Huxtable’s super spicy chili from the Cosby Show, and even a really weird one from epicurious that had green olives and raisins (which wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t chili. I may not be a firm con carne or con frijoles person, but I feel about chili the way the Supreme Court feels about pornography — I know it when I see it).I never really settled on THE chili — the one that becomes my go to recipe, that I make again and again — until I found this chili. It presents a mild heat without bowling you over with spiciness, it has beans, which I like, and meat, which I also like and it has tomatoes without being a tomato stew. Best of all, it is easy as pie to make and can be made in the crockpot, which means all I have to do is chop an onion and brown a little ground beef in the morning, dump it in the crockpot with several cans and spices, and I have a nice bowl of chili waiting for me when I get home. It’s also great for a Super Bowl party — hearty and warming, and there’s no last minute fuss to prepare it when your guests arrive.

Now that I’ve found this chili, it’s the one I keep coming back to. Occasionally I look at other chili recipes, and I may even try one someday (but not with raisins!) but this has become what chili is.

2 lbs ground beef (I used organic grass fed beef, but this can also be replaced with ground turkey)

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic

1 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained

2 11.5 oz. cans Ro-Tel (When I lived in New York, where Ro-Tel isn’t, I’d see this in recipes and wonder what the hell it was. It’s canned diced tomatoes and green chiles. If you don’t have Ro-Tel, you can use 2 cans diced tomatoes and add another can of diced green chiles, below.)

1 6 oz can tomato paste

1 4 oz. can diced green chiles

¾ c. beer (light beer, like Corona, but sometimes I make it with dark)

Brown the ground beef with the onion and the garlic until no pink remains.

Put browned meat with other ingredients into crockpot or slow cooker, give it a good stir, and leave to cook on low for8-9 hours or high for 4-6. (I think it’s better when it’s cooked on low, and even better if you eat it the next day).

36 Comments

I feel the same way about chili, living in Washington,I never grew up eating “the real deal chili” nor had a handy recipe that I knew like the back of my hand. That all changed when I married a Texan and he has a very good idea of what should be in chili. All I know is that chili is even better when served over a good cornbread!

Midwesterners love their chili. Like you (before this recipe) I don’t gave a go-to chili recipe. I own “Not Your Mother’s…” and have skeptically passed by this recipe multiple times. So happy to know it works! I’ll have to try.

I’ve always felt that chili is sort of personal; many people have their go to recipe and don’t care to try any others. I’ve avoided including a chili recipe on my meal plans but I’ve decided to use this one because it’s good and simple and if there is someone who does need a recipe, this recipe is the perfect one to try.

You made me laugh. I’ve lived in California for most of my life, and we do have some interesting flavor combos. I’m a chili aficionado (self-appointed) and you’ve got every single ingredient that would make this chili be “the one”. It’s close to my own version, but I’d like to try yours. I make my own chili seasoning, but have yet to figure out how to make it into a recipe. I just grab, throw and taste.

I always look up a chili recipe, cook it and then loose it. That will tell you that none were ever worth keeping around!! Until now, right now I am printing this one up and it is going in my “keep” recipe file!! Yummy, this is now “the” chili recipe!

I made this recipe this weekend with some slight tweaks and it rocked!

Instead of the 4oz extra green chiles, which I forgot to pick up, I threw in some jalapeno slices. Instead of canned beans I used 50/50 dry kidney and pinto beans, soaked overnight and rinsed. I might use less next time. I used a full 12oz bottle of beer because it didn’t look like I had enough liquid to start. Probably the amount of beans. After going all day though, it started to seem too thin, so I did the last hour on high with the lid sideways. I used a local amber ale and the flavor was perfect.

This is just incredible. First time I’ve made chilli so I did a lot of research, so glad I found this. I halved it, used black beans instead of pinto because that’s what I had. Couldn’t find ancho chile powder in London but piled in the jalapeños and some smoked paprika. Ridiculously easy and so good, thank you for an amazing recipe!

This recipe blew my mind!!! Instead of beef i did 1 lb pork loin w salt n pepper cooked as directed w garlic n onion. shredded it up after it was done and put it back in the crock pot! For the seasonings i just did 1 tsp cumin, and 1/2 tsp of chipotle chile pepper Mmmmmmm so good! I just won my first chili contest w this! 5 stars!!!!!!

Just made this tonight, but I added 2 cans of chili beans, 2 cans of V8 tomato juice (the 6 oz cans), Cayenne pepper, tobasco, red and black pepper. Needless to say, it is almost gone. This recipe is excellent as a base for your own twist on the recipe. Thanks to this base, I now have my very own chili recipe

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About The Domestic Front

I'm Kate, and between my day job and my home job, life is pretty full. Look around to find some of the recipes, projects, stories and tips that keep me sane on the domestic front. Read more about me here and feel free to email me with any questions or feedback!